I assumed the impossible practice of walking on stilts was solely for the circus or a merry band of vagabond street performers. Alas, these ‘impossible’ contraptions were extremely valuable methods of transport to the French shepherds of Landes in the south-western farmlands. Believe it or not, until the beginning of the 20th century, stilts were actually used…

Paris has always had a knack for making the ordinary and the mundane somehow look infinitely more charming, even the city’s public toilets were once a thing of beauty… In the 1860s, French photographer Charles Marville was named the official photographer of Paris. Until his death in 1879, he documented the richness and diversity…

It does sometimes seem like our early 20th century ancestors had a knack for coming up with particularly extravagant new ways to torture themselves. An electric bath? Sounds pretty awful, doesn’t it? Fortunately it didn’t exactly involve mixing a bubble bath with electricity and taking a dip after a long day. In fact, this turn of the century invention…

If you can’t accept the holidays are over, say I! Today was spent mostly getting lost on the internet and here is the result… 1. What Marilyn Monroe could have looked like as a brunette. Pretty smokin! Do blondes really have more fun?! Maybe she should have stuck with her natural color. via here …

In 1908 Dr Julius Neubronner patented a miniature pigeon camera activated by a timing mechanism. The invention brought him international notability after he presented it at international expositions in Dresden, Frankfurt and Paris in 1909–1911. Spectators in Dresden could watch the arrival of the camera-equipped carrier pigeons, and the photos were immediately developed and turned…

Bonjour! Let’s try to forget that it’s Monday and get straight to the weird and wonderful findings from my morning dig on the internet… 1. Hidden Victorian Pet cemetery in London Did you know there is a Victorian pet cemetery located in Hyde Park? Dating back to 1880, the cemetery is home to hundreds of…

There are a lot of Tumblrs out there that stick a bunch of pictures up and don’t tell you anything about it. Black and WTF is a fascinating photoblog that’s dedicated to doing its homework on some of the wackiest, most inexplicable black and white photographs from the past. Some of the images and the…